When There Were Monsters

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When There Were Monsters was the first recorded film produced by Ted Phillips, and therefore the first to use storybook animation and to include an opening title sequence with a theme song. Although his earlier work Th had used both storybook animation and an opening title sequence, that was not recorded and did not include a theme song. When There Were Monsters was recorded on VHS-C format media on or about February 6, 1993, but was not edited or released to the public until December 1, 2008.

At the time When There Were Monsters was filmed, camera operator John Phillips did not have any blank VHS-C media available. Thus, he selected a tape with existing footage that was considered of low importance, specifically the tape containing John Egan's meteorological audition. He calculated that the production would be short enough to not damage the subsequent footage, which he believed to Christmas 1991. His calculation was correct; however, the subsequent footage was actually documentation of Ted Phillips's first day of school. Nonetheless, roughly six minutes of audition footage was destroyed in order to film When There Were Monsters.

When There Were Monsters was the earliest known recorded production by Ted Phillips. Analysis in April 2022 revealed that the long-believed oldest tape in the archives was actually younger, and this short dethroned Deep in the Woods for the title. After archaeological recovery of Ted's Fun Site in 2024, further evidence to support When There Were Monsters was discovered in the site's 1998 discussion of the early timeline. That web site also referred to this short by an incorrect title, as "The Glob."

There has been some debate in recent years whether "When There Were Monsters" is the actual title of the film. For one thing, in the opening title sequence, the narrator actually says "When They Were Monsters;" however, that is not the first line the narrator says in the raw footage. The narrator's first line is "When [unintelligible]." There are various theories as to the reason for the unintelligibility:

• The narrator delivers the line with slurred speech.
• They may be a cappella notes in the theme song, also sung by the narrator.
• They may be sound effects performed by the narrator, before he remembers that the black-and-white storybook pages are supposed to be part of the theme song.
• They may be the title in monster language, which the narrator translates in the very next line.
• They may be an outtake of the next line.
• They may purposely be unintelligible, similar to the title of his previous storybook work Th.

• The short mimics read-along books that were prevalent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Ted Phillips imitates the use of a chime indicating when to turn the page when he makes a "beep" sound at the end of each page.
• The setup is a precursor to Ted's live productions of The Glob and The Eye, in which groups of treasure seekers enter caves and someone goes missing.
• The jewel hunters first notice a giant eye in the cave, which is later expanded upon with The Eye.
• The wood makes an appearance.
• Gore is called "fruit juice." This concept is revisited in Skelly 2.
• There is a rotary phone in the background behind Teddy Phillips.

• When applying to film school, Ted Phillips described When There Were Monsters in his portfolio:
  

  Ted Phillips said:

  Two travelers are attacked by a pair of ferocious monsters. The heroes defeat the attackers, but in the process die themselves.

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